Wise Woman Travel

On the pathway leading up to Okinawa’s Shuri Castle stand the remains of a giant akagi tree, estimated to be more than 200 years old. It was heavily damaged during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and further battered by a typhoon. Although the original tree is no longer alive, a tenacious akou tree has grown among the remaining branches, restoring some of the akagi tree’s former beauty.

The tree is a suitable metaphor for the history of Shuri Castle in Naha City, Okinawa. The castle was originally built in the late 14th century as the palace and seat of government for the Ryukyu kingdom, which ruled the Okinawan Islands for hundreds of years. Ryukyu was a major trading partner of China and other southeast nations until it was annexed by Japan in 1879. Its loss of independence  still rankles Okinawans.

During Ryukyu rule, the Castle burned down three times – in 1453, 1660, and 1709 – and was reconstructed each time. In 1945, it was flattened by American bombers – and rebuilt again, opening to the public in 1992. In 2019, it burned to the ground once more.

But Okinawan devotion to its Ryukyu roots means that Shuri Castle would rise from its ashes a fifth time.

Journeyman and apprentice carpenters and Okinawan volunteers are collaborating on a massive indoor reconstruction program to restore the Castle to its former splendor.

As part of their stroll through the Castle grounds, visitors can watch these crafts people at work, using a mix of modern and  traditional carpentry methods and building materials. The restoration project even involves replanting the trees used for rebuilding. Although it will take these trees 100 years to reach maturity, this process is seen as an investment in materials for future repairs to the Castle, or touch wood (pardon the pun), in case there’s a sixth reconstruction necessary sometime down the road. Shuri Castle will always represent Okinawan identity, and that can never be burned down, bombed, or otherwise destroyed.